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Westfield Matildas set for six week European tour

The Westfield Matildas’ FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 preparations are ramping up after Head Coach Alen Stajcic named a squad for a six week European tour that will encompass the Cyprus Cup and an extensive training camp in Italy.

The 22-player Westfield Matildas squad, which will depart for Cyprus tonight, comprises 17 players who were part of the recent international tri series in New Zealand, with the additions of Laura Alleway, Kate Gill, Collette McCallum and Gema Simon – a quartet with a combined 188 international matches between them – who have all overcome injury to be selected.

In addition, Premiership winning Perth Glory goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold has also been named in place of Casey Dumont, who is set to be sidelined for up to 12 months after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament while making her Westfield Matildas debut against New Zealand.

Stajcic also revealed that talented trio Tameka Butt, Samantha Kerr and goalkeeper Lydia Williams, who are on the comeback from injury, plus an additional three players will join up the squad in Italy for the second part of the tour after the Cyprus Cup.

While the European tour is a major part of the Westfield Matildas’ lead up to their first FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 match against the USA on 8 June, Stajcic reiterated that players who missed out on selection were not out of contention for the World Cup squad.

“Some players such as Kate Gill, Collette McCallum and Laura Alleway are returning from injury and this is a good opportunity to look at some of those players who didn’t travel to New Zealand,” Stajcic said.

“Certainly the majority of the positions are still up in the air so we’ve got a good six week tour in front of us and we’re confident we’ll know most of the squad for the World Cup by the end of it. In saying that, the door is certainly open to others who aren’t in this squad making it on the plane to Canada.”

The Westfield Matildas’ opening match of the Cyprus Cup 2015 is against the Netherlands on Wednesday 4 March, followed by matches against their other Group B opponents England and Finland, before another guaranteed match on the tournament’s Finals Day.

Following the Cyprus Cup, the squad will set up base in Italy for a host of training sessions as well as other international friendly matches which will be announced soon.

“This tour gives us a great opportunity to catch up to the rest of the pack in the world by spending an extended period of time together and playing a number of quality international matches that will be invaluable as we continue to work on our structure and the way we want to play when we get to Canada,” Stajcic said.

The match days for the Cyprus Cup 2015 are set out for Wednesday 4 March, Friday 6 March and Monday 9 March culminating in a Finals Day on Wednesday 11 March. All three of the Westfield Matildas’ group matches at the Cyprus Cup are scheduled to kick-off at 2.30am AEDT.

The Cyprus Cup is a global invitational tournament held annually in Cyprus since 2008. For more information about the tournament including a full list of fixtures, visit http://www.cypruswomenscup.net/.

Westfield Matildas – European Tour squad

Name

Club

A International Caps (Goals)

Laura Alleway

Brisbane Roar

26 (0)

Mackenzie Arnold (gk)

Perth Glory

2 (0)

Nicola Bolger

Sydney FC

3 (0)

Steph Catley

Melbourne Victory

26 (1)

Larissa Crummer

Brisbane Roar

1 (0)

Brianna Davey (gk)

Melbourne Victory

15 (0)

Lisa De Vanna

Melbourne Victory

92 (32)

Caitlin Foord

Perth Glory

24 (3)

Kate Gill

Perth Glory

83 (40)

Katrina Gorry

Brisbane Roar

24 (8)

Michelle Heyman

Canberra United

27 (10)

Elise Kellond-Knight

Brisbane Roar

49 (1)

Alanna Kennedy

Perth Glory

22 (0)

Collette McCallum

Perth Glory

78 (11)

Teresa Polias

Sydney FC

4 (0)

Clare Polkinghorne

Brisbane Roar

75 (4)

Hayley Raso

Brisbane Roar

8 (1)

Gema Simon

Melbourne Victory

1 (0)

Kyah Simon

Sydney FC

43 (10)

Ashleigh Sykes

Canberra United

7 (2)

Servet Uzunlar

Sydney FC

40 (2)

Emily van-Egmond

Newcastle Jets

33 (8)

* Tameka Butt, Samantha Kerr, Lydia Williams and three additional players will join the squad after the Cyprus Cup